Open AccessThe Polismail Lesson: Sublingual Immunotherapy May Be Prescribed also in Polysensitized Patients
Author(s) -
Giorgio Ciprandi,
Cristoforo Incorvaia,
Paola Panina-Bordig,
Silvia Scurati,
Simonetta Masieri,
Franco Frati
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
international journal of immunopathology and pharmacology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.724
H-Index - 53
eISSN - 2058-7384
pISSN - 0394-6320
DOI - 10.1177/039463201002300227
Subject(s) - slit , medicine , allergen , sublingual immunotherapy , allergen immunotherapy , immunotherapy , quality of life (healthcare) , immunology , dermatology , allergy , immune system , psychology , nursing , neuroscience
Polysensitization is a feature of allergic rhinitis (AR) that significantly impairs the quality of life (QoL) of AR patients. Allergen-specific immunotherapy is the only causal therapy for AR. However, the polysensitization phenomenon may represent a crucial obstacle as far as it concerns the choice of the allergen extract which should be used for immunotherapy. Therefore, a real-life based multicentre study, named POLISMAIL, has been designed which aims at evaluating the behaviour of some allergists managing polysensitized AR patients. The effect of two-year SLIT treatment in those patients was also evaluated. A single allergen extract was used for two-thirds of patients, whereas a mix of two allergens was chosen for the remaining patients. The severity grade of AR and the type of diagnosis were significantly improved by 2-year SLIT. In addition, SLIT significantly improved QoL. Both outcomes confirm that SLIT with one or two allergen extracts achieves a significant improvement in polysensitized patients. In conclusion, the POLISMAIL study demonstrates that polysensitization should not represent a counter-indication for prescribing immunotherapy. The choice to limit SLIT to 1–2 allergen extracts was sufficient and effective in improving symptoms and QoL.